


A Thin Line...

by IndigoBloom



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Good W. D. Gaster, M/M, Parent W. D. Gaster, Pre-Accident W. D. Gaster, Scientist W. D. Gaster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-07-23 07:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16154468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoBloom/pseuds/IndigoBloom
Summary: Quite often, we find ourselves walking a line. That thin line between what’s right and what’s wrong. The line between sanity and chaos. Sometimes we slip. And the world pays for it after…





	1. A Fresh Start...

I wake with a start, eyes darting around my lab, through the papers and the wires. It was then that I realize that it was just a stack of papers that fell. That’s what woke me.   Stealing a glance at my watch, my heart falls. _Is it that hour?_ I think to myself,  _I need to test it now. It’s now or never._   Suddenly, a knock pounds at my lab door.

“Yes?” I call.

The lab doors open. A goat monster in gold armor is standing there, flanked by royal guardsmen. His golden fur makes the illusion of a small beard, even if that’s a thing only humans can have. Behind him, I see the aging Human representative.

“W. D. Gastor?” one of the guards say.

I bow to King Asgore and Senator Juno.

“King Asgore, sir,” I say.

“Asgore Senior,” he says, beaming with pride, “My son has just been born,”

I smile politely.  “Congratulations,” I say.

“You wanted to show us something?” Senator Juno interrupts.

“Ah, yes,” I say, turning around, “I was just about to test it. I think I’ve finally found the way to make it work,”

“To make what work?” The King asks.

I gesture for them to follow me. Leading them to the back of my lab, and grabbing a few things on the way, I try to plot out a plan. I really hadn’t thought of it, of what to do, but…I have an idea. 

We come upon a large machine, taking up most of the back wall of my lab. It’s mainly just a glass cylinder with wires and things between it and various controls.

“This,” I say, waving my hand at it, “is what I wanted to show you,”

Senator Juno gasps.  “What is it?” he whispers.

“It’s…well, it creates… _ life, _ ” I say, “At least, it’s supposed to,”

“And have you found a way for it to work?” His Majesty asks.

“I think so,” I say, “I haven’t tested it yet,”

“Well,” he says, “Proceed, just don’t do anything... _ drastic _ ,”

I nod, and turn toward the machine. I put my materials on a work bench, and grab a scalpel. With it, I scrape a little of my bone from my forearm into a petri dish. I hiss a little at the pain, but I ignore it.  I take the petri dish, and dump it into the main cylinder.  “First the body,” I mutter, “now, the soul,”  I grab a knife that I had found, and I stab it into my arm, pinning it against the desk. I grunt in pain.

“Gastor!” Asgore Sr. exclaims, “That’s exactly what I was talking about!”

“No other way, sire,” I say through gritted teeth.

As cracks spread from the wound, my soul leaves my chest.  In one motion of my arm, I grab the knife, and chip a small bit of my soul off. Pain shoots through my chest.  I touch my soul and it disappears, back where it belongs. I carefully grab the chip of soul with tweezers, and put that in the cylinder as well.  I close the machine, and start to type in commands on the multiple keyboards. I step away, and start to bandage my arm.  “You may want to avert your eyes,” I say, shielding my own as the machine starts to hum.

The glowing from the soul chip grows steadily, until it’s too bright to look at. The humming grows to a loud buzzing, almost deafening.  Suddenly, for just a second, everything is white, and the noise stops. Then, the world is back to normal, as if nothing happened.

I look at the smoke filled cylinder, my chest sinking in worry.  _ Please let it have worked, _ I think,  _ please…  _ I open the door, the heavy smoke spilling all over the floor. For a moment, I’m filled with grief. It hadn’t worked. But then I see it. The most miraculous thing, laying in the middle of the chamber, not making a sound, just… _ staring _ at me.  I stoop down and pick it up, cradling it in my arms.

“Amazing…” King Asgore mutters, “It’s a child! Not only just a child, but an infant! As if it were just born!”

I stare at the infant skeleton, and...he? Yes, I’m pretty sure it’s male. He stares right back at me, still not making a sound.  “His name is...Sans,” I say, saying the first name that comes to mind.

“‘His’?” Senator Juno says, “How can you tell?”

“There is only one parent, so It would make sense for the child to be the same gender,” I say.

They both nod.

“Well, this is a major scientific discovery,” Asgore says, “So, I’m proud to appoint you as our new Royal Scientist. Congratulations,  _ Doctor _ Gastor,”

I smile, and grab a clean towel to wrap Sans up in.

It’s then that Sans decides to start crying. But it’s not like most infant crying. It’s a bit more like just…whimpering.

“Oh, shhh…” I coo, bouncing him, “Everything’s okay,”

He quiets down a little, and closes his eyes.

“I think I’ll go home now,” I say, “I’ll need to rearrange some things to make room for this new addition,”

“Alright,” Asgore says, “I’ll have the Guard move your Materials to a different lab,”

“It’s fine where it is,” I protest.

“Yes, but the location of your lab is a bit… _ oblique _ ,” he states.

I nod.  “Alright,” I say, “I’ll be there at first light tomorrow morning,”

He nods, and I make my way out of my lab.

I don’t know what he means by “oblique”. Yes, it’s in the middle of the woods, but that’s just because I do some…dangerous experiments, and I don’t want any unnecessary civilian injuries or casualties. 

I walk to the edge of the woods, with my little cottage just in sight.  “There’s your home, Sans,” I mutter to the sleeping infant, “I hope you like it,” 

As I walk further out of the forest, though, I notice something. The village I live in is...quiet, even for this time of night.  I look into town square, and I see a group of heavily armed humans.  _ Oh god,  _ I think,  _ not now. Just let me get to my house.  _

I focus on the front step of my cottage, and I teleport there in one step.  Silently, I open the door, and slip inside.  “Sorry, Sans,” I say to him, “The lights won’t be going on tonight. I don’t want to draw attention to us. The Prowlers are out,”

I grab some blankets and pillows, and make a nest on the farthest left side of my bed. Careful not to wake him, I place Sans in the middle of the nest. 

I walk over to my modest kitchen, and I grab an apple. I need to get back some of my HP. After taking a bite, I slowly unwrap my arm, and watch the gash in my bones heal, right before my eyes.  I smile slightly. Healing magic will never cease to amaze me.  After finishing the apple, I go back over to my bed, and lay on my left side. I stare at my son until I slowly drift to a dreamless sleep.


	2. Five Years Later...

“Dad!” Sans says, shaking me awake, “Dad, wake up!”

I open my eyes, and look around. It’s almost pitch black, except for a slight orange light shining in through the window.  “Did you wake me up at sunrise  _ again _ , Sans?” I groan, “You know I don’t need to be at work until  _ after _ I get you to a babysitter,”

“It’s not sunrise,” he says, “it’s midnight,”

“Then why…” I start, propping myself up on my elbow.

“Humans are burning down houses in the village!” he says, “And I think our house is next!”

I stand up and almost instantly teleport to the window. I glance outside, and what Sans says is true. The Prowlers are accompanied by the Human Military, and they’re burning down houses. I can see friends and neighbors, rushing out of already burning houses, arms full of possessions, or kneeling in front of already charred houses, families huddled together, being held at gunpoint.

“Get Papyrus,” I say, rolling up my sleeves, “Follow me out the door, but stay behind me, understand?”

I look at Sans, and he nods.

Moments later, I’m at the door, Papyrus slung onto my back, Sans holding my hand. He’s wearing a backpack that’s full of food and water-bottles.

“Stay behind me, alright,” I say to him, my other hand on the door knob.

He just nods.

I open the door, and walk out into our village.  I look at the neighbors across the street from us. It’s the  Capella family. Pater Capella is a good friend of mine, and works with the King as well. His wife, Artopta, owns a bakery, and she makes the best pies this side of Ebbot Valley. Their daughter, Toriel, is five years old, same as Sans, and they are good friends. This family of Goat monsters don’t deserve to be threatened.

“Gaster!” Pater calls, looking at me with such desperation, “Please, explain to these gentlemen that we haven’t done anything wrong!”

One of the humans turn around and looks at me.  “Dr. W. D. Gaster,” he says, “and your affronts to nature! You just stay right there, some of our boys will be with you momentarily,”

A group of soldiers walk over to us, and one puts his hand on my shoulder.

I grab his wrist, kick his foot out from under him, and pin his arm behind his back.  “Leave this village,” I say, “There’s no need for this violence,”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself, old friend,” I hear from behind me.

I look up to see King Asgore flanked by a squad of Royal Guardsmen.

“We’ll agree to your terms,” he says to the human leader, “if you leave my citizens alone. Stop all of this needless violence,”

The human smiles, and points at Mount Ebott.  “Your new home is waiting,” he says, “all of the Monsters on the surface needs to be there by sunrise…or else,”

King Asgore nods. The human whistles, and all of the other humans fall back.

I let go of the man I had accosted, and he scampers away.  “What are you doing?” I ask, “We can’t just falter like that!”

“There has been enough dust and blood shed so as it is,” he says, “The next thing you know, my son, or yours, would have been the next to die. Do you want that?”

I shake my head.

“Then grab everything you need, and meet the rest of us at the mountain,” he sighs, “We’ll see what we can do with what we get,”

I nod.

He nods back, and barks orders at the guardsmen to start putting out fires.

“Tori…” I hear Sans mutter from behind me.

The next thing I know, he’s running across the street to the Capella family.

I follow him.

“What the hell…” Pater says as I approach, “I hope that His Majesty knows what he’s doing,”

“I think he does,” I say, repositioning Papyrus so I’m holding him in front of me. He stayed asleep the entire time.

“What are we going to do now?” Artopta asks, hugging both Sans and Toriel.

I look up at Mount Ebott.  “We make do,” I say, “ and we…we stay determined,”


	3. Five Years Later...

Leaning away from the edge, I screw the final panel into the exterior of the Core. My feet are turned out, almost completely, so as to safely stand on the seamlessly integrated maintenance ledge around the rim.  I put the screwdriver between my teeth, hold onto the safety line with my right hand, and wipe sweat off of my brow with my left.  “Finally,” I mutter to myself, past the screwdriver, “no more all-nighters. I can finally get home in time to tuck Papyrus in at night...”.  I stand up and put the screwdriver in my pocket. I start to step up onto the ledge of the Core, when I hear someone.

“Dad!” I hear Sans yell, on the exact opposite edge of the Core from me, “Hi!”

I turn around to see him, Papyrus, and Toriel all waving at me. They’re all tied together by rope. 

Papyrus is in a pair of denim shorts, tall red rain-boots, his usual red scarf, and an orange hoodie with a white stripe across the middle.

Sans is in his usual blue hoodie with a black and white striped t-shirt and black shorts. He’s also wearing a pair of blue flip-flops.

Toriel is in a purple and blue striped sweater with a small purple pleated skirt. She’s wearing small black flats and light purple, frilly socks.

“What are you doing here?” I call across to them, still slightly leaning away from the edge.

“We wanted to visit you at work,” Sans calls back, “I’m coming across!”.  He starts to untie the rope around his waist.

“No, wait!” I call, “Don’t! I’ll come around to you!”

But it’s too late. He’s already backing up for a running start.

I step up onto the ledge on my side, and undo the safety line. I leap off at the same time as Sans, and grab him mid-air. I toss him back to the other side of the Core.

“DAD!” he screams as I fall.

I fall for what seems like ever, and I consumed by the bright, cold, light of the Core.

\---

(Sans’ POV)

“DAD!” I scream again as I land back on the side of the Core. I try to go after him, but both Papyrus and Toriel grab my hood.

“Sans, no!” Toriel says.

I kneel at the edge of the pit, watching my dad fall into nothingness. Tears fill my eyes. Why did I do that? What was I trying to prove? Was I just showing off since Toriel’s here?

“Wh-Where’d Papa go, Sans?” Papyrus asks.

I stand up, and turn to him. My seven year old little brother stares at the edge of the ledge.  “It’s fine, Paps,” I say, “He’ll be fine, I’m sure of it,”.  I tie the rope back around my waist, and we all carefully climb back down the side of the Core. Tears are streaming down my face. _ This is all my fault,  _ I think,  _ Paps and I are now orphans, and it’s all my fault. _

We walk away from the Core in silence, when we hear something hit the ground behind us.

I turn around to see a person, face down on the ground, giving off a slight amount of smoke.

The person is in a white shirt, and they look almost like a skeleton, but...they’re burnt. There is a streak of black going up and around the left side of their head. But, with all of this, they’re still...familiar. Then, the horror of the situation hits me.  “D-Dad?” I say.

His head perks up, and he slowly pushes himself off of the ground. He looks at me, and I gasp. The streak of black goes into his left eye, which looks like a sideways crescent moon. There’s the same type of streak going down from his right eye, and his mouth is burnt into a jagged semi-smile.  He stands up fully, slightly hunched over, and cocks his head to the left side a little. He doesn’t speak, and I don’t think he recognizes any of us.

“Dad,” I say, “It’s me, Sans. You’re okay!”

He lunges at me, and grabs me by my shirt collar. He stares at me with empty eyes. I’m not looking into his eyes, though. I’m looking at his hands. There are  _ holes _ burnt into the middle of his hands.

I tear my eyes off of his hands, and stare him in the eyes.  “Dad…” I whimper, “Wh-what’s wrong with you?”

He blinks once, glances up at the ceiling, and smiles a bit. Then, with no warning, he throws me as hard as he can down the path.

I skid across the floor, and slam into the wall.  Everything goes blurry, and my ears start to ring. Well, I don’t have ears so...

Not even a minute later, Toriel is shaking me, trying to get me up.  “Sans!” she’s saying, “Sans!”

I sit up, and rub my head.

“He…disappeared,” she says, “Where do you think he went?”

“He looked in the direction of the Royal Palace,” I pant, “I think he went there,”

She nods.

I stand up, and run toward an elevator.

“Where are you going?” Papyrus calls after me.

“To stop our dad from doing something he’ll regret!” I call over my shoulder, “That’s not him in control, I know that for certain!”

They follow me.

We take the elevator up to the Palace, and run all the way through to the Soul Room.  And there he is. Facing the six Human Souls.

“Dad!” I call, “Dad, please! You’re scaring me!”

He turns around, and dashes at me, but before he can reach me, King Asgore steps in front of me.

“Please, old friend,” he says, “don’t make me do this,”

Dad bounces off of His Majesty, and stares at him, enraged.  He waves his hand, drawing an arch in the air, and multiple hands appear. He points at Asgore, and they all fly toward him, at deadly speeds.

His Majesty just dodges or deflects all of them.  “Please, Gastor,” He says, pinning Dad against the wall between two of the tynes of his trident, “You have sons to look after,”

Dad glances at me. But only for a second, like he doesn’t know me.

“PAPA!” I hear someone scream from behind me.  I turn around to see Papyrus, on his knees, crying.

“PAPA, STOP IT!” he cries, “COME HOME!”

I turn back around to Dad, and he’s staring at Papyrus.

His eyebrows twitch, and he blinks rapidly for a second. He shakes his head slightly, eyes closed, and when he opens his eyes, he’s looking around, confused.  “K-King Asgore,” he mutters, looking at His Majesty, “What? W-Where am I?”

“You weren’t yourself,” King Asgore says, unpinning him, “What happened to you?”

“I...I fell into the Core...and  _ survived _ ,” Dad mutters, “and...I...I saw the whole of the multiverse, all at once,”

“Ah,” Asgore says, “I see. That’s enough to make anyone go mad,”

“It was my fault,” I say, “I was being stupid, and he fell,”.  Tears rim my eyes. I fall to my knees, and cry.

Gastor kneels next to me, and tries to put his hand on my shoulder.

“No!” I yell, “Get away from me!”

“Sans,” he says, “What’s wrong?”

“You hurt me, don’t you remember?”

His face drops into an expression that I can only describe as horror.

“Yeah,” I say, “You threw me as hard as you could at a wall,”

He puts his face in his hands, and moans.  “I’m sorry,” he says, “I truly am,”

I scoot away from him, stand up, and grab Papyrus’ hand.  “Come on, Paps,” I say, “Let’s go home,”

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Gastor calls after me, “No broken bones?”

“No,” I say, “I’m perfectly fine, Gastor,”.  I walk away before he can comment that I didn’t call him “Dad”.

\---

(Gaster’s POV)

I stand up, watching my sons walk away.  “He…he didn’t…” I mutter, “He didn’t call me ‘Dad’,”

“It’s fine,” Asgore says to me, “He’s just been through a lot. He’ll be back to calling you ‘Dad’ tomorrow,”

“I hope you’re right, sire,” I say.

We stand there in silence for a bit.

“Why do you keep calling me that?” Asgore says, “We’ve known each other long enough for you to stop,”

“It’s pure respect and habit, sir,” I say

“Well, Old Friend,” he says, “I think you should go home, and make it up to Sans,”

I nod, and walk out of the Soul Room, the voices of the fallen children screaming in my head.

_ Why!?  _ _ What did we do?!  _ _ You hurt us!  _ _ You’re evil! Evil! EVIL! _

I shake my head.  _ No, _ I think,  _ I’m not evil. _

_ We shall see…, _ a very dark and intimidating voice says back.

A chill goes down my spine. Who was that, and why are they in my head? I need to find a way to stop this…this… _ madness! _

_ But, how? _ The voice says again, like it’s right behind me,  _ you can’t even control yourself from hurting your own son. _

_ That wasn’t me,  _ I think _ , That was you. _

_ True,  _ they answer,  _ I’m not going to deny it. _

_ Go away,  _ I demand.

_ Why? _

_ Just…go away. _

_ But…why? I am part of you after all… _

“Just go AWAY!” I shout, externally, clutching the sides of my head, and bending over slightly. My head is throbbing in pain.  I’m just glad no one was there to see that. Where even am I?  I look around. I’m in a hall in the area known as Waterfall. I’m standing at something of a T in the road. To my left, there’s a door to an old mine shaft. But it’s used as a shop. It’s Gerson’s. He always has something.  I enter the shop, and Gerson looks up from a rock he was examining.

“Well, well,” he says, standing up, “What would the Royal Scientist, Dr. W.D. Gastor, want from an old Turtle like me?”

“You often have things from the surface,” I say, “Do you have anything new?”

“Umm…let me think,” he says, rummaging in a sack, “Ah! Yes! I found these at the dump yesterday. It’s unopened, so…”.  He places a small box in my hand. It has the Human language written on it. It says, “Sally’s Favorites. Best cigarettes in Ebbot Valley!”.  “I think they’re like tinder for starting a fire,” Gerson says, “It has writing on it, but I’m not good with the Human’s language,”

“They’re called cigarettes,” I say, “they’re for…recreation. Humans light one end on fire and breath the smoke through the cloth filter at the other. It’s usually bad for human lungs, but since I don’t have any, I’ll take them,”

“Well,” Gerson says, “I haven’t put a price to them yet, but I’ll take 3 G for them,”

“Alright,” I say, “I’m pretty sure I have a full box of matches at home…or at my lab,”.  I hand Gerson three gold coins, and turn around, still examining the small box I had just bought.

_ What do you plan to accomplish? _ The dark voice in my head says.

_ To trap you, away from my consciousness,  _ I think.

_ You’re smart,  _ a kinder voice says,  _ You always were. Even when you were being forced to do something you didn’t want to. _

_ Who are you?  _ I think.

_ Don’t you recognize my voice? _ They…she? Yes, it’s a female. She says back.  An image of a green human soul, then a human child with dark skin and dark hair, smiling kindly at me. 

_ You’re the small child with the apron and frying pan, _ I realize,  _ but…why are you in my head? _

_ Why do you think the first place you went was the Soul Room?  _ She answers,  _ My name is…well, was, _ _ Adaline. You told me that my soul was full of kindness. Me and the other children have decided to help you and your broken soul. _

_ But I hurt you, _ I think back _ , shouldn’t you hate me? _

_ I can’t talk long,  _ Adaline says,  _ the darkness will return. But, we don’t hate you because you have noble intentions. _

I nod. I then realize that the entire time I was listening to Adaline, I walked. I’m now standing in front of my house near the edge of the first settlement, which is starting to be called the Ruins.  I walk into my house, and go right to the kitchen. I search through a drawer, and find a full box of matches.

_ What are you doing? _ The dark voice says again.

_ Getting rid of you,  _ I think back.  I open the box of cigarettes, take one out, and light it with a match. I hold it between my first and middle finger, staring through the hole in my hand.

_ I’ll still be here, _ the darkness says,  _ I’ll still be observing you…from a distance. _

_ As long as it’s from a distance,  _ I think back.

I put the cigarette between my lips, and take a long breath in. A weird taste fills my mouth. It’s like a combination of the smell of burning food and the smell of where I built the Core, which was full of lava.  I cough slightly, but I try to make myself slowly breath out, exhaling all of the smoke I had inhaled.  I listen for a minute. The voice doesn’t speak, but I hear six smaller voices talking over each other, chattering.

Then they go silent.

_ Thank you,  _ one of them says. It’s not Adaline. It’s male, and fairly young.

Six small figures fade into view, not even three feet away from me.

I see Adaline, wearing a green apron that is stained with multiple other colors, and holding a burnt pan that is glowing green. Also, a glowing green heart is in the middle of her chest. Her hair is dark chocolate brown, while her skin is more of a caramel brown. Her eyes are green. She’s also wearing a light brown shirt with a dark green stripe across it.

Next to her is a slightly shorter boy. His hair is short, and stands up at odd angles. It’s dirty blonde, and his skin is pale. He has yellow eyes, and a yellow heart on his chest. He’s wearing jean shorts and a black short sleeve shirt with a bright yellow stripe across the middle. He’s holding a brown cowboy hat, that is for some reason glowing yellow, in one hand, and in the other he has a toy revolver.

“My name’s Bastian,” he says, with a strange exotic accent to his voice. I think it’s from a place on the surface called Australia, “and you told me that my soul was full of a sense of justice,”

I nod.

Next to him is a young girl with long black hair. She’s wearing a pink ballet leotard with a dark blue “v” stripe across the middle. She’s also wearing a dark blue tutu, and a pair of dark blue ballet slippers. Her eyes are the same color of dark blue, and so is the heart on her chest.

“My name is Golde,” she say, bowing in a third position plie, “and you told me that my soul was full of integrity,”

I bow to her, and she giggles.

Next to her is another boy. He’s in a light brown karate gi. It’s bunched up around his elbows and knees, with lighter brown leg warmers covering most of what seems to be a pair of black boots. His gi has an orange belt across it, acting as the stripe. He’s also wearing orange boxing gloves and and orange bandana that has abbs drawn on it. His eyes are orange, and he has light brown hair, in a traditional army haircut. He has an orange heart on his chest.

“My name it Clif,” he says, crossing his arms and smiling, “and you told me my soul was full of bravery,”

I nod at him.

Next to him is a girl with blonde hair, holding what seems to be a plastic knife. She has a large blue hair ribbon tying up her long hair. She’s wearing a white shirt with a blue stripe across the middle, a black skirt, and a pair of light blue stockings with black flats. Her eyes are light blue, and so is the heart on her chest.

“My name’s Jolinn,” she says, “and you told me my soul is full of patience,”

By now, my eyes are welling up with tears.

The last child is...indistinguishable as boy or girl. They have bright orange hair covering one of their eyes. They look nervous, and are shifting from one foot to the other, fiddling with an old purple notebook. From under their hair, I can see a pair of purple glasses, and their eyes are purple. They’re wearing a grey short-sleeve shirt with a purple stripe across it, and the heart on their chest is purple as well. They’re wearing dark blue jeans, and light brown ankle-boots.

“My name is Avery,” they say, their voice wavering, “and you told me that my soul was full of a sense of perseverance,”

They then all stare at me, probably waiting for me to say something.

I find that I can’t speak, and my knees give out. I fall to my knees in front of them, and just stare at them all. I then notice that they are all slightly translucent. So, they’re ghosts…

I look from one to the next, and I stop at Adaline. She looks like she’s about to cry.

“I’m sorry,” I finally choke out, again holding the cigarette between my fingers, “I’m…sorry,”

“It’s okay,” she says.

“We forgive you,” Bastian says, smiling slightly.

“We’re here to help!” Clif says, enthusiastically.

“With what?” I ask.

“The darkness,” Avery says, “We can help keep him out,”

“We need to give him a name,” Jolinn says.

“How about…‘Xibalba’,” I suggest.

Bastian nods thoughtfully, and the others look at eachother and mutter.

“Sounds fine,” Adaline says, “and…as much as I don’t like saying this…the cigarettes help. They put up a bit of a barrier between you and Xibalba,”

“That sounds like a good thing,” I say.

“Gastor?” I then hear from the doorway.

The children part, and turn to Sans, standing in the doorway to the kitchen holding an empty glass.

“Who are you talking to?” he asks, “and…what’s that weird smell?”

“He can’t see us,” Bastian says, “Just say that you were talking to yourself. And…do, yet don’t, explain the cigarettes,”

I nod.  “I was just talking to myself, Sans,” I say, “and the smell…it’s smoke, from a human thing called a ‘cigarette’. I heard of them before, so I thought I might try them, to ease the stress of recent events,”

“But…aren’t they bad for you?” he asks, filling the glass with water from the sink.

“They’re bad for humans, but not for us,” I say, “we don’t have lungs,”

He just nods, and starts to walk out of the kitchen.

“Goodnight, Sans,” I say.

He just waves to me with the back of his hand.


	4. Fifteen Years Later...

I’m laying on my back on a patch of golden flowers, staring up at the cavern ceiling. The Soul-Children are sitting in a group a little bit away. I’m in one of the first rooms of the Ruins. I don’t live here anymore, though. I have my own Lab, near the Core.

Toriel married the King’s son, Asgore Jr. They now have a son of their own, named Asriel.

My sons moved to a small town called Snowdin, and Sans still doesn't call me “dad”, but Papyrus still calls me “Father”. Sans is 21, and Papyrus is 18. Papyrus is much taller than him.

Toriel’s parents passed three years ago, and His Majesty passed last year. I’m the one of the very few “original monsters” left. 

Suddenly, I hear someone walking up to me. I turn my head slightly to see the young Prince Asriel walking up to me.  “Uumm…Dr Gaster, s-sir?” he says, kneeling down next to me, “What are you doing here?”

“Thinking,” I say, and then I turn back to the ceiling. 

Asriel lays down next to me, his hands behind his head.  “What are you thinking about?” he asks.

I sigh. I came here to be alone, but…well, at least he’s not annoying.  “Nothing in particular,” I say, “Just…things,”

“Hmm…” he says.

Suddenly, we hear something hit the ground in the next cavern over.

I sit up, and face the door.

“W-what was that?” Asriel asks.

“I don’t know,” I answer standing up.

“W-what i-if it’s a h-human?” he whimpers, hiding behind me.

I slowly walk toward the door, when a human child in a tattered grey shirt stumbles through. 

They stare at us for a second, their eyes almost glassy, then they let out a wild cry. They run at us with a large knife, and swishes it rapidly.

I back away, corralling the Prince near the door.  “Go,” I say, blocking a slash from the child, ripping the sleeve of my sweater, “Get some guards!”

“Are you going to steal this child’s soul as well?” Bastian asks.

I shake my head.  _ No, _ I think,  _ Never again.  _ I grab the child’s wrist, and, making multiple other hands and having them link together, tie their ankles and wrists together.  “Calm down, child,” I say to them, taking the knife and putting it in my belt, “We’re not going to hurt you,”.  I pick them up over my shoulder, and they start thrashing and screaming.  “Stop thrashing, or I  _ will _ drop you,” I say, adjusting my grip around their legs.  I make my way through the ruins, and I find that the Royal Guards and His Majesty are waiting for me at Toriel’s house.

She has volunteered to be the guardian of the Ruins. It was her mother’s job before her, and she met all of the children that now follow me.

“Good,” King Asgore Jr says, “Undyne, Lesser-Dog, take the human to the dungeon,”

“Asgore, please,” Toriel says, over near the entrance to the living room, “they’re just a child!”

“A violent child, Toriel,” Asgore says, “but…we’ll see what we can do,”

I put the child down, and as Undyne (a young fish-woman in the Guard) ties up their wrists, I remove the hands.  “Now, behave yourself,” I say to the child.

They turn around to look at me as the guards take them down the stairs to the entrance of the ruins. They stick their tongue out at me, and I raise my eyebrow at them.

“Now, Gaster,” His Majesty says to me, “I have a good candidate for an apprentice,”

I roll my eyes.  “I don’t need an apprentice,” I say to him. 

“But this monster is very promising,” he says, “Just…see them and consider it,”

I sigh, and nod.  I follow him to the throne room, where a young monster is sitting on the ground, cross-legged. 

She’s looks like a little yellow dinosaur, wearing a light blue hoodie and a black pleated skirt. She also has large glasses, and is fiddling with her tail.

“Alphys, was it?” King Asgore asks.

She stands up so quickly that her glasses nearly fall off. She starts to blush, casts her eyes to the ground, and pushes them back into place.  “Y-yes, sir,” she stutters, “th-that’s my name,”

“You had something to show Dr. Gaster?” he says, kindly.

She nods, and takes out a remote that looks like it was made out of old things from the dump. She presses a button on it, and a weird whirring sound starts.

“Hello beauties and Gentle-beauties!” says a synthesized and jovial voice.

A robot that looks like a TV on a single wheel rolls out from behind Asgore’s throne. They have two segmented arms, ending with gloves, and they’re holding a microphone. The display on their front has a picture of a large red “M” with a yellow background.

“Th-this is m-my first successful robot,” Alphys says, gesturing to it, “his n-name is Mettaton. Th-that’s what the ‘M’ is for,”

I am at a loss for words. I approach Mettaton and kneel in front of him, examining everything.  “It’s extraordinary!” I say, opening a back panel. And then I see it. A glowing pink heart.

“Oh!” Alphys says, “that’s the b-best part! He has a Soul!”

“But…how?” I ask in amazement and disbelief.

“Th-that’s my little secret,” Alphys says, blushing slightly more, if that was even possible.

“When can you start?” I ask, standing up, towering over her.

“S-start what?” she asks.

“Your apprenticeship,” I say.

She looks at me, eyes wide, puts both fists to her mouth, and makes a weird squealing noise.

I look at Asgore, and he shrugs.

“As soon as I can!” Alphys says, “Oh, thank you!”

I smile and nod.  “Grab everything you need, and meet me at my lab in Hotland,” I say to her.

She nods rapidly, looks at Mettaton, and they both leave. As they walk down the hall (well, Alphys walks and Mettaton rolls), I can hear Alphys chattering excitedly.

“And…you should introduce her to what you do, since there is a new human child in the Underground,” Asgore says, “Just, extrac-”

“No,” I interrupt, “Never…again,”

“But, this would be the last!” he says.

“No,” I say again, “I promised…”

He shakes his head and scowls.  “Then you’ve doomed the entirety of Monsterkind to imprisonment in the Underground,” he says.

I glare at him. I start to walk out of the room, but, since he’s standing at the door, I have to pass him. I pause next to him.  “You’ll never be the King your father was,” I say to him.  I then leave before he can react. Three steps away from the door, I teleport, arriving at the door to my Lab in only three seconds flat.  I turn to the door, when I hear someone running up behind me. I turn around to see Alphys jogging down the path from Waterfall, pulling a wagon behind her. I can see a large box labeled “MTT” in the wagon, lots of magazines and CD looking things, and lots of packs of instant noodles.

“Hi!” she says, “I’m here! I just needed to g-grab some things,”

I smile kindly and nod.  “Should we start the tour here, or wait until we’re inside?” I ask.

“Well, w-what is there to show out here?” she asks, genuinely curious.

I chuckle, and gesture for her to follow me as I walk away.  “But leave the wagon,” I call to her.

She drops the handle and trots after me.

I lead her to a ledge a little bit away, and point to the large looming machinery far across the lake of lava.  “That,” I say, “is the Core. I made that myself, with the help of some Royal Guards, just for some heavy lifting. It provides all of the Underground with power,”

“That was made during the time of King Asgore the Just, right?” she asks.

I smile sadly, remembering my old friend. His title suits him, but his son is unworthy of his name.  “It was,” I say, “and it’s the reason I look like this,”

She looks at me, and frowns.  “H-how?” she asks, quietly.

“I fell,” I say, “I slipped and fell into it,”

She gasps.  “B-but shouldn’t you be dead?” she mutters, “How…how did you survive?”

I chuckle. She is an inquisitive one, I’ll give her that.  “I have no idea,” I say, “I was shattered and scattered throughout the multiverse. I saw the whole of creation, all possible universes, all at once. And then, I was rapidly collected and brought back here. But it had its… _ drawbacks. _ I was burned, and my soul…it was shattered. A darkness grew there, but I’ve had some help to keep it at bay,”

Alphys stares at me in amazement.

“Why are you telling me this?” she asks.

“Because I tend to talk to people only I can see,” I say, referring to the Soul-Children, “so it’s a bit of an explanation for me possibly seeming insane,”

She nods at me.

I turn around and walk back to the Lab. I open the door, and Alphys, grabbing her wagon, follows me.  “You can have the cot up in the apartment area up there,” I said, gesturing to the stairs, “I sleep on the couch up there…when I can,”

She nods, putting her wagon in a corner.

I grab a lab coat, and put it on. I grab a second, smaller one, and hand it to her.  “Follow me,” I say, “the real work happens back here,”  I lead her to a door in the back of the lab. It leads into a dark area filled with rooms and halls. Some rooms have beds, there’s a shower area, and…my least favorite room. The Soul extractor.

We stand in front of the large machine, just…staring.

_ Why did you tell His Majesty you wouldn’t? _ I can hear Xibalba whisper to me,  _ It’s just one more soul to follow you around… _

I shake my head, and reach in to an inner pocket in my lab-coat for my cigarettes, but I pause. Alphys has lungs. Should I ask her first? Just to be safe… “Do you mind if I smoke?” I ask Alphys, “It helps me stay calm,”

She looks at me nervously.  “Umm…w-well,” she stammers, “it’s not healthy…but I guess you don’t have lungs…but, second-hand smoke is worse…oh, but…okay,”

I nod to her, and grab a cigarette from the case, and a single match. I strike the match, and light the cigarette. I put out the match and put the cigarette in my mouth.

_ You can’t keep me contained forever…  _ Xibalba screams as I take a draw, and his screaming fades away.

I exhale, careful to keep the smoke from going directly at Alphys.  “This is another of my major builds for King Alphys the Just,” I say, “It was used to extract all six of the Human Souls in the Royal Palace,”

“Wow,” Alphys whispers, “it’s…horrifying,”

I raise my eyebrows, and look at the little monster.

She’s hugging her tail to herself, probably for comfort.  “I mean,” she continues, “th-the humans were ch-children, right?”

I sigh and nod. I take another draw from the cigarette, and hold my breath for a bit.

“You must have been heartless to extract their souls,” Alphys mutters, not even stuttering over a single word.

I exhale the smoke through my nose.  “I regret what I did,” I protest, “every single day since the first child, but I was under orders,”

“I-I understand, sir,” she stutters, “You had your s-sons to protect,”

“I had to stay in the job to keep food on the table,” I agree, “but I hated what I was made to do,”

She nods.

I turn around and walk out of the room.


	5. Two Days Later...

“So, you’re just here for a medical evaluation?” I ask the human child as they sit on the edge of a bed.  I’m fixing some settings on a machine I use.

“Yep,” they say, arms crossed. They’re wearing one of Prince Asriel’s green and yellow striped sweaters, brown shorts, and brown shoes. Their light brown hair is now very neat, like Toriel wanted to make them look presentable.

“Okay, lay down on your back,” I say, pulling out a screen from the machine.

They lay down, and I put the screen over them.

“Try not to move,” I say.

They just stare up at me.

I turn the machine on, and I start the scanner, looking at the child’s soul. As I scan, I gasp.

“What?” Alphys asks, who had been standing behind me.

“Their soul…it’s… _ empty _ ,” I say.

“I can still hear you,” the child says, “and I have a name you know. It’s Chara,”

“Alright, Chara,” I say, “I regret to inform you that your Soul is devoid of all feeling. Which is bad, because that means you can be easily manipulated,”.  I put the screen away, and continue, checking all of the human’s vital signs.  “Well,” I say, finally, “you seem perfectly healthy,”.  I rip the evaluation sheet off of my clipboard and hand it to Chara.  “Give this to either His Majesty or Lady Toriel,” I say, “It basically says what I just told you,”

Chara nods, and I lead them out of the Lab, where Toriel is waiting for them.  “Hey, Mom!” they say as they run to her, “Guess what? I’m perfectly healthy!”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Toriel says, and then she looks at me, maybe mentally asking about their Soul.

I frown and shake my head.

She then suddenly looks very worried.

I mouth to her not to worry about it.

She smiles at me slightly, and takes Chara’s hand.  “How about we go get some Nice-cream?” she asks both Chara and Asriel, who is holding onto Chara’s other hand.

“That sounds great!” Chara says, “Do they have chocolate flavored?”

“Yea!” Asriel says, “And lots of others! My favorite is caramel, ‘cause it reminds me of mom’s Butterscotch Cinnamon pie!”

The happy chatter goes on like that as they walk away.

“W-why didn’t you tell her?” Alphys asks, “She has a right to know,”

“It’s written in the report,” I say, “She can read it for herself,”.  I turn around, and walk back into my lab.

\---

(A week later)

I’m working on repairing certain things around the lab, when someone bursts in the front doors.

“Dr Gaster!” Asriel calls, “Help!”

I jump out of my seat, and rush to the young Prince. He’s carrying Chara, who is coughing and nearly entirely limp.  “What on earth happened?” I ask, taking Chara and holding them in my arms.

“They ate some butter-cups,” Asriel cries, “I told them not to, but they did it anyway,”

I sigh.  “Didn’t they know that buttercups are poisonous?” I huff.

“I don’t think so,” Asriel mutters.

“How many did they eat?” I ask.

“I-I don’t know,” Asriel says, “I turned around and they were shoving whole hand-fulls in their mouth,”

I sigh as I take Chara to a bed in the back room.  “You could die from doing something as stupid as that, you know,” I tell them.

“I don’t care,” Chara replies, “I…don’t…care,”

I shake my head, and write a list of things for Alphys to do to keep Chara well for as long as possible.

“W-why are you doing this?” Alphys asks as I hand her the list.

“I don’t want to be here when they die,” I say, “I’ve seen too much death. That, and I’m officially handing in my notice of retirement,”

Alphys suddenly looks scared, but just nods at me. She turns around and rushes out of the lab.

Chara then starts to gag, and I grab an empty bucket. I pull Chara so they’re hanging over the side of the bed, face in the bucket, making sure that the vomit only goes into said bucket.

“Maybe I  _ should _ stay,” I mutter.

“Yeah, that’d be better,” Chara groans.

I roll my eyes. I lay them back on the bed.  “Asriel, get your parents,” I say, turning to the Prince.

“O-okay,” he says, “Hang on Chara,”.  He turns around and runs out of the Lab.

“Can I have a last request?” I hear from behind me.

I turn around and look at Chara. They’re pale, and their eyes are almost closed.  “What would that be?” I ask kindly, almost channeling Adaline. I kneel next to their bed, and take their small hand. It’s trembling, and is slick with sweat.

With a lot of effort, they turn their head to me. They look like they’re only holding on to life long enough to tell me this.  “I…I want you…to take me back…back to my village…” they mutter, “The…the golden flowers…should be in…in bloom by now…,”.  They cough, and they squeeze my hand. They then gasp for breath, eyes fluttering open in panic.

I jump to my feet, not dropping their hand.  “No, no, no, please,” I say.  I look around, but there’s no help to be found.  “ALPHYS!” I bellow “ALPHYS, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Silence answers.

Chara coughs again, and takes a last, shuddering breath. Then, they’re motionless.

“Chara?” I say. I shake them slightly, and their head falls limply to the side.

“Chara!” I hear from behind me.

Toriel rushes over to me, and I step out of the way.  She kneels down next to her child, and is silent for a second. Then she wails in utter distress. She hugs Chara’s lifeless body, and sobs.

I reach over and close Chara’s eyes.  “I’m sorry,” I say, “there was nothing I could do. It was already too late when they got here,”

Toriel just nods. Asriel walks up to us, and just falls to the ground on his knees. He stares at his sibling’s lifeless form.

I notice I’m still holding Chara’s hand. I let go, and put my hands in my lap. I feel drops land on my hands. I look up at the ceiling, but all seems right. Then, I reach up to my face. It’s soaking. I was crying and I didn’t even realize it.

Asgore is the last to come over to the bed, and that’s when I stand up, to give the grieving family room.

I find a paper, and write, “Chara’s last request; take them back to their village”.  I hand it to His Majesty, turn around and walk to the door of the room, and see Alphys standing there. I stop.  Rage fills my chest.  “Where were you?” I growl at her.

She hangs her head.  “I-I’m s-s-sorry,” she says, tears filling her eyes, “I’m t-too late,”

I only glare at her, and walk out of the room, through the halls, and out of the Lab. I walk through Waterfall, not stopping, not thinking.

“You could have done better,” Xibalba hisses in my ear.

I turn to the shadow version of myself. He looks more sleep deprived than I am, thinner than me, and shadows flow off of his clothes.

“No,” I say, “if Alphys had taken less time, Chara could have stayed alive,”

Xibalba chuckles.  “But it was  _ your _ fault,” he says, leaning toward me.

“I tried my best,” I say.  I turn away, and walk toward the exit of Waterfall, toward Snowdin.

“Where are you going?” Xibalba asks.

“To Sans and Papyrus,” I say, “I’m going to ask to sleep on the couch,”

“It’ll never work,” Xibalba says, “Sans hates you,”

“No,” I say, “He hates  _ you _ ,”


	6. Drinking Problem...

I walk through the outskirts of Snowdin Forest, toward my sons’ house. 

Sans is already walking out of the door as I approach.  “Oh,” he says, “Gaster. It’s you,”.  He walks up to me, but pauses for a second.  “Why are you here?” he asks, and then takes a step closer to me, looking me in the eyes.  “Jesus Christ,” he says, “You look terrible,”

“I  _ feel _ terrible,” I say, “Sans, I have some...sad news,”

He takes his hands out of his hoodie pockets.  “What?” he asks, “Did something happen to the King?”

“Not exactly,” I say, “Don’t tell Papyrus what I’m about to tell you. We both know how sensitive he is. He’ll find out with everyone else,”

“What?” he asks, “What happened?”

I close my eyes for a second, just to compose myself.  “The…the King’s adopted child,” I mutter, “They…they’re… _ dead _ ,”

Sans sighs.

“I was there,” I say, hanging my head, “they came to me for help, but I…I failed,”.  I feel tears flow down my face again.

Sans grabs my shoulder.  “Why are you here, then, Gaster?” he asks, quietly.

“I’m retiring,” I say, “the apartment in the Lab belongs to Alphys now. I was wondering if I could sleep on your couch tonight,”

“Yeah, sure,” he says, “I was just about to go to Grillby’s. Wanna come with?”

I smile slightly.  “That would be nice,” I say.

He smiles slightly, and turns away from me. He starts to walk into the town.

I follow him to the only restaurant in town, called, as he said, “Grillby’s”.

We enter, and the small amount of chatter that was going on stops, and everyone looks at me. 

“Let’s sit up at the bar,” Sans says, “then we can talk a bit,”

“Sans,” I say, “we don’t have stomachs,”

“Well, you don’t have lungs,” Sans says, “but you still smoke,”

I roll my eyes and sit on the stool next to Sans. As soon as I sit, the talking starts again, but only as mumbles and whispers.

“Hey, Grillby,” Sans says, “two glasses of water,”

I look up to see who he’s talking to, and I see something quite fascinating.

Grillby is a fire monster. He’s made entirely of orange and yellow flames. His eyes are little spots of white flames behind a pair of black glasses. He wears a white button-down, black vest, black garters on his upper arms, and a black bow-tie.  Grillby raises an eyebrow, which is more-or-less just a yellow flame in the shape of an eyebrow.

“Just for us,” Sans says, defensively.

Grillby nods, turns his head at me slightly, and then walks away.

I look at Sans. He refuses to even glance at me.  “So,” he says, “How are you holding up?”

I sigh.  “This is the seventh human child that has died because of me,” I say, “but I was actually holding their hand when they died. They looked at me, gave me their last request, and…they died,”.  I hang my head again, and just stare into my lap.

“‘They died because of me’,” Xibalba says to me, chuckling, “I love to hear you agree with me,”

“Shut up,” I mutter.

“What was that?” Sans asks.

“Nothing,” I say, “It was nothing,”

Grillby comes back with the water.

I nod at him, and he just…stares back. It’s hard to tell, with him not being able to move his face much, but I think he’s just looking at me out of pure curiosity.

“So,” Sans says, “You…you feel… _ sorry? _ ”

I sigh.  “Sans,” I say, “‘Sorry’ doesn’t even  _ begin _ to cover how I feel. I feel…regret, anger, depression, hopelessness…all at once,”

Sans sighs.

I look up a him, and he’s looking at me, shaking his head.

“Damn,” he says, “That’s… _ harsh, _ ”

_ I need to come clean, _ I think to myself,  _ I need to tell him what I’ve been going through.  _ “Sans,” I say, “I need to tell you something,”

Sans looks at me.

“I’ll start with this,” I say, looking him in the eyes. 

He’s resting his arms on the bar.

I put one of my hands on his shoulder.  “I don’t blame you,” I say.  I can tell this catches him off-guard. 

He leans away from me a bit, but not too much.  “I…I don’t understand,” he mumbles, “It was my fault. I jumped. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have fallen,”

“All you need to know is I don’t blame you for your actions,” I say, “But what I really need to tell you is what happened after,”

“I already know,” he says, “the Core drove you crazy,”

“Not necessarily,” I say, “When I fell in the Core, my soul…my soul was shattered,”

Sans leans back slightly. 

I then notice that Grillby is still standing there, listening to the entire conversation. I guess we’re the most interesting thing to happen today, so I don’t mind.  “A darkness started to grow there,” I continue, “but, since I was pulled from his control in the Soul Room, the children…they took pity on me,”

“Wait,” Sans says, “‘ _ his _ control’? And the children took  _ pity  _ on you? Didn’t you extract their souls?”

I glare at him slightly.  “Sans,” I say, “you need to understand, I was under orders. Get it?  _ Under orders. _ I did it to keep a roof over yours and Papyrus' heads. Please, just…understand that,”

Sans sighs.  “Okay,” he says, “Continue,”

“Well,” I say, “From then on, after the cigarettes, I could see the children. All of them, at first. Jolee, the light blue soul, Golde, the dark blue soul, Cliff, the orange soul, Avery, the purple soul, Adaline, the green soul, and Bastian, the yellow soul. Now, only Adaline and Bastian show themselves to me. That does make sense, since they are the oldest ones. I don’t go a single day without seeing either one of the children or Xibalba,”.  I don’t look at him. I stare at the glass of water in front of me, grab it, and take a sip. The cool liquid runs down my throat.

Sans sighs again.  “I’m guessing this is another thing I shouldn’t talk to Papyrus about either?” Sans says.

“Correct,” I say, “He would just constantly worry, and I…I don’t want to be a burden,”

Sans places his hand on my shoulder, and stands up.  “Hey, Grillby,” he says, “put the drinks on my tab,”

Grillby just nods.

Sans turns away and I hear him leave Grillby’s.

I just sit there at the bar, finish the glass of water, and hang my head, staring into my lap.

Grillby taps the bar in front of me.

I look up, and he cocks his head slightly to the right.  “Do you have anything stronger than water?” I ask him, and he nods.  “I’ll have that, then,” I say.

He nods again, and turns around. He grabs a glass and a bottle of something dark amber. It looks like it’s boiling in the bottle.

“That looks strong enough,” I say.

Grillby puts the glass and the bottle on the bar, takes out a notepad, writes something, and puts the note on the bar.  His handwriting is a very neat, slightly slanted, cursive.  The note says, “I’ll leave you the bottle, and put the drink(s) on Sans’ tab,”.

I smile at him, and nod.  “Thank you,” I say.

He stands back slightly, grabs a glass from the bar sink, and starts to dry it.

I pour a glass of the drink, and it hisses and steams as it touches the glass. It settles, but still looks like it’s boiling. I grab the glass, feeling the heat of the drink through the sides, and smell it. It smells like cinnamon mixed with whiskey and gasoline.  _ What is this? _ I think to myself.  I raise the glass to my mouth, pause, and then take a sip.  It burns my mouth and throat as I swallow, and almost instantly I feel the drowsiness of inebriation.  I cough, and nearly spit the mouth-full of hellish drink out, but I swallow. I sit there coughing for a minute, and then look at Grillby.

His shoulders are slightly shaking, as if he’s laughing. He’s shaking his head as well.

I don’t know why, but I start to chuckle as well.  I grab the drink again, but Grillby stops me. 

He grabs the glass, takes the bottle, gives me a new glass, and puts a bottle of whiskey in front of me.

“I think that would be better,” I say, laughing.  I pour a glass of it, and take a sip. It soothes the fiery mess the boiling drink left behind.  “So,” I say, looking a Grillby, “you have to deal with Sans everyday?”

He nods.

“Does he get annoying?”

He tilts his head back and forth.

“Kind of?” I say, and I laugh, “What, is it his puns?”

Grillby rolls his head back slightly, and his shoulders start shaking again. I think he rolled his eyes, but with his head as well.

I chuckle. I reach inside my coat, to the inside pocket, and grab my box of cigarettes.  “Mind if I smoke?” I ask.

He shakes his head no.

I take out a cigarette, put it in my mouth, and search a bit more, but I can’t find my box of matches.  “Damn it,” I mutter, “well I can’t light it,”.  I reach up to grab the cigarette from my mouth, but Grillby reaches over, pinches the end, and when he lets go, the cigarette is lit.  I chuckle slightly.  “Thank you,” I say, and I take a puff, looking over at Xibalba. He slowly fades from view.  I take the cigarette from my mouth, and take another sip of whiskey, emptying the glass.  “Thank you, Grillby,” I say, standing up, “For making sure Sans doesn’t get into too much trouble.  I start to walk away, stumbling and swaying as I walk.  I trip over my own foot, and just after I start to fall, Grillby catches me, puts my arm over his shoulders, and helps me to the door.  _ Damn, I’m drunk… _ I think to myself,  _ I shouldn’t go home like this.  _ “I…I don’t want…Papyrus to see me like this,” I slur, “take me anywhere else,”.  I can’t hold my head up as Grillby continues to help me towards Sans and Papyrus’s house.

He shakes his head.

We arrive sooner than I thought we would, and Grillby knocks on the door.

Sans opens the door, and sighs.  “I leave you alone for five minutes,” he says, “It’s either you’re a lightweight, or Grillby started you with Lava Whiskey,”

“Issat what that was?” I slur as Grillby walks me over to the couch.

Again, Grillby silently laughs. He sits me down on the couch, and I slump back and sigh.

“I feel terrible,” I mutter.

“You’ll feel worse tomorrow,” Sans says, kneeling in front of me, helping me get my shoes off. He helps me lay down, and almost as soon as he lays a blanket over me, I quickly drift to sleep.


	7. Next Morning....

I sit up on the couch, my head pounding like a jackhammer. I stand up, and instantly need to flop back down. My head starts spinning, but is stops after a minute or two.

“Did you really have to do that to yourself?” Bastian says to me.

I look to my right, and he’s sitting on the couch, shaking his head.  “I…I don’t need to make excuses to you,” I say, “I would rather you just stay as a small voice in my head, showing me what’s right,”

Bastian scoffs.  “You’re really that desperate to die?” he says, “We both know you won’t listen to us,”

“That’s not true,” I say, “I always take your advice. You didn’t give me any last night,”

“We tried,” he says, “the alcohol you drank last night created a barrier none of us could get through. I tried, so much. Adaline was the one who tried the hardest, but she exhausted herself. She’s fading. Sometime soon, we’re all going to return to our original souls,”

I pause for a second.  “But…” I start, “…that would leave me alone with Xibalba,”

“Actually,” Bastian says, “That…Lava Whiskey, was it? Yeah, it got rid of him. He couldn’t stand it, and…retreated to the deepest part of your subconscious. You won’t see him again,”

I nod.

“I’ll be going now,” Bastian says, “And…you probably won’t see any of us again,”

I nod again, and turn to him, and I watch him fade away. I stand up, walk out of the house, and across the road. I sit down in a drift of snow, and stare at the house my sons live in. I pull my pack of cigarettes from my pocket, and stare at it for a second. I sigh, stand up, turn around, and chuck it as far as I can. I do the same with my matches. I turn back around, and flop back into the snow.

Five minutes later, Sans walks out the front door. He starts down the steps, but stops, staring at me.

I stare back, and wave slightly.

“You know that you’re going to get wet?” he asks, walking up to me, “And cold?”

I just shrug my shoulders, and pat the snowbank next to me, trying to get him to sit down next to me.

He just chuckles, and shakes his head. He walks up to the snowbank, and flops down next to me with a dull  _ flump _ sound.  “Why are you out here?” he asks me.

“I threw out my cigarettes,” I say, “I’m giving up smoking,”

Sans just stares at me.  “So,” he says, “you’re getting…better?”

“Sort of,” I say, “The children are returning to their Souls, and, somehow, that hell-like drink Grillby gave me yesterday got rid of Xibalba,”

Sans just nods.

“How long have you known Grillby?” I ask, since the questions has been on my mind since last night.

“About five years,” he says, “Or as long as Papyrus and I were here,”

I nod.  “Where are you heading?” I ask.

“I’m taking Papyrus to Undyne’s house,” Sans says, “She’s been promoted to Captain, and he wants to ask her if he could be in the guard,”

I nod, imagining Papyrus in Royal Guard armor.  “What about you?” I ask.

“What about me?” he answers.

“Do you have a job?” I ask.

“I sell hotdogs at extraordinary prices,” he says.

I roll my eyes.  “I’m being serious, Sans,” I say.

“So am I,” he replies.

I just shake my head.  “How are you and Papyrus not homeless yet?” I ask.

“Says the dude who had to move in with his sons,” Sans replies.

I chuckle, and shake my head.

Sans stands up, brushes his pants off, and walks toward the door, just as Papyrus walks out of the house.

“Alright, Sans,” he says, “I’m ready to go talk to Undyne!”.  He then looks at me, and I wave at him. He cocks his head to the side slightly, but ignores that I’m in the snow.

“Okay, Paps,” Sans says, “Let’s go then,”. He then turns to me. “See you later, Gastor,”

I wave at him, and sit back in the snow. I stare up at the cave ceiling, and wonder what I’m going to do today. Then I hear someone running toward me.

“Gastor!” the person yells, “Gastor, help!”

I stand up to see Toriel running toward me, crying.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“It’s Asriel,” she sobbs, “We can’t find him anywhere. He was absolutely crushed when…Chara…well, he left the Palace yesterday, saying he just wanted to take a walk, but now we can’t find him anywhere. And, on top of that, the human souls were missing for ten minutes, but then returned,”

I place a hand on her shoulder.  “I’ll find him,” I say, “Don’t worry,”

She nods. “Thank you,” she says.

I start to walk toward the palace, and teleport. In the blink of an eye, I’m in the throne room, and it’s empty. I walk through, to the last room before the barrier, to find a flower growing in the middle of the room. It’s a golden flower, like the ones that grow in the Ruins and around the throne. The only difference is…this one is growing alone.  “Prince Asriel?” I call, walking around the room.

“Yes?” a scratchy voice says from behind me.

I turn around, but see no one.

“I’m down here,” they say again.

I look down to see the flower looking at me, confused. I back up a few steps, amazed. I’ve never seen a flower with a face before, and…I don’t know what to do.  “Prince…Prince Asriel?” I ask the flower, crouching down.

“Who else could I be?” he asks.

“Well,” I say, “You…you don’t  _ look _ like the Prince,”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

I look around, but can’t find anything close to a mirror. “Wait here,” I say, and I stand up, going back into the palace. I find a mirror, and bring it to the Flower Prince. I face it toward him.

He gasps, eyes opening wide in amazement. “Th-that can’t be! That’s not me! But it’s talking with me…and moving with me…Oh, no! How is Mom and Dad going to recognize me?! I don’t even recognize me!”

He continues to jabber, and I place a hand on his head.

“I’ll make up a story,” I say, “I’ll find you a good place in the Ruins to stay. You won’t have to talk to your parents,”

“I can teleport there,” he says, “I figured that out a little while ago,”

I nod. “I’ll tell you where to,”

“I’ll just go the the second room in the Ruins,” he says, “The room where we were staring up at the ceiling when Chara fell…”

I nod. “That sounds like a good plan,” I say, “But we should give you a different name,”

“Why?”

“You’re not the Prince anymore,” I say, “You don’t have a Soul, do you?”

“I…I don’t know,” he says, “I can’t feel anything. I just feel…empty,”

“That would be because of the lack of a soul,” I say, shaking my head, “That’s why we need to find a new name for you,”

“It would have to something with flowers,” he says, “so it’s not suspicious. How about…Flowey?”

I think for a minute. It’s very obvious and childlike, but that’s what makes it not suspicious. “Alright,” I say, “That will be your new name, Flowey the Flower,”

He nods. “I’ll be off to the Ruins now,” and he disappears into the ground with a light, muffled  _ pop _ .

I stand up, and sigh. “What am I going to tell Toriel?” I mutter to myself, making my way back toward Snowden.


	8. The Royal Funeral…

I sit down on the couch in Sans’ house, and lean back, staring up at the ceiling.  _ Why can’t I just keep one child from dying? _ I think to myself,  _ It seems as if anyone who knows me ends up hating me or dying. It’s like I’m cursed.  _ I sigh.

Then, someone knocks on my door.

“It’s unlocked!” I say, loudly.

The door opens, and Grillby walks in. He looks at me for a second, and then holds up a blue sweatshirt.

“Did Sans forget that?” I ask, “Alright, I’ll make sure he gets it. Just…hang it on the bannister,”

Grillby nods, and walks over to the stairs.

Then, suddenly, the TV turns on. It shows an image of King Asgore standing in front of his throne. It looks like he just stopped crying, but is close to it again.

“Monsters of the Underground,” he says, “I have very upsetting news. Prince Asriel and the human, Chara, have…perished. The entirety of the Underground will be in a state of mourning for six days, three days for each child, and then there will be a funeral for them tonight at the Palace. All monsters residing in the Underground are invited to attend, but attendance is not mandatory. Thank you for your attention,”. The TV turns back to static.

Grillby had sat down next to me on the couch, and he’s leaning his elbow on his knees, hands over where his mouth and nose should be. His eyes are dripping something that looks like magma, but when it hits the couch, it instantly evaporates. He takes off his glasses, and wipes his eyes on the back of his right hand.

I stare down at my own hands, and I notice that they’re shaking slightly. I fold my hands together tightly to stop them from shaking, and I look up again.

The front door opens, and both Papyrus and Sans walk in, both of them looking despondent and sad.

“Hey Gastor,” Sans mutters, “Hey Grillby,”

“Father,” Papyrus says, “Sans told me that you…you were there…when the human died…”

I sigh, and look at Sans. “I was,” I say quietly, “Where were you when you found out?”

“Undyne’s house,” Sans says, “Her TV just suddenly turned on, and…well, King Asgore made his speech,”

I nod. I stand up, and I place my hand on Papyrus’ shoulder. He’s rather tall, but still half a head shorter than me. “Everything will be alright,” I say to him, softly, “We can go to the funeral, if you want,”

He nods. He then walks over to and sits on the couch, next to Grillby. He places his face in his hands, and leans forward, elbows on his knees.

“Are you alright, Sans?” I ask.

“I’m fine,” he says, “I…I’m…I’m just going to…be in my room,”. He then heads up the stairs, and down the hall, to his room.

“Would you like to stay for dinner, Grillby?” I ask, turning around.

He pauses for a second. He shrugs and nods.

“Alright,” I say, “I’ll cook dinner tonight. Let’s see what we have…”

I go into the kitchen, and there isn’t much. There  _ is  _ a dozen of eggs, and some cheese. I can tell just by smelling it that it’s some form of Swiss. “How about a quiche?” I say, “It would be quick and easy,”

There’s no answer from Papyrus, and I didn’t expect one from Grillby.

I start to gather ingredients and tools and things, when I notice that Grillby had come over to the kitchen, and is starting to help.

“Thank you,” I say quietly, “and…you don’t have to stay. I know that we all have to deal with this in our own way, so if you…”

He just waves his hands dissmissively. He points at me with a crooked finger while sweeping his hand down twice, and then he places his left hand, in a fist, on his right palm, and lifts his fist with his other hand.

“ _ I _ need help?” I laugh slightly, “I’m coping well on my own, I assure you,”. I find an old, but not too old, orange pepper in the fridge, and I start to cut it, slowly, seeing as my hands are still shaking. I try to steady my hands, but I can’t help it. The knife slips across the cutting board I’m using, falls out of my hand clatters to the ground. I just look at the knife for a second, and then bend down to pick it up, with trembling hands.

Grillby grabs the knife before me, and my hand brushes against his.

I pause.

We both stand up, and he places the knife in the sink.

He faces toward me, shaking his head.  _ This is exactly what I mean,  _ he signs,  _ You’re not alright. I know that you want to pretend that you are, for your sons’ sake, but you need to take yourself into account. Both of them are grown up now, and you’ve been through more than any monster could ever survive. If you need to talk to anyone who won’t repeat what is said to them, I’m all ears. _

I sigh. “I…I know Grillby,” I say, “I…I just…I’ve seen things that most monsters wouldn’t be able to comprehend. I’ve done things most humans would call evil. I…I can’t even get my eldest son to call me ‘dad’. If I can’t be anyone to the rest of the monster race, I just want to be Sans and Papyrus’ dad, but I can’t even do that properly. Sans…ah, it’s nothing. I just…I miss the good old days, you know? Before we were forced to live down here, before the…accident, when Sans, Papyrus and I would play in the meadow outside our village. We’d catch butterflies, play tag, make daisy chains. It was so much easier, you know? When they were younger, and life was going well. Do you remember anything from before coming down here?”

Grillby nods.  _ I had a small house with my… _ , he signs, but he pauses, thinking,  _ partner. We loved to cook together, and we would share our food with the monsters in our neighborhood. But, I was coming home late from the local market that night, and…Prowlers attacked me in the street. After the Royal Guard came by and told the humans we were surrendering, I found our house in ruins…and my partner was nowhere in sight. The only thing of his that I recognized was this bowtie. _

I glance at the bowtie he’s wearing. “I’m…I’m sorry,” I say.

He signs something along the lines of “It’s in the past,”.

I nod, and I start to whisk together ingredients as he cuts vegetables.

We continue to work together, cooking food, doing some dishes, and other kitchen things like that. After I put the quiche in the oven, I walk over to where Papyrus is still sitting on the couch.

“Papyrus?” I ask, placing my hand on his shoulder.

His head rolls to the side, and he’s snoring softly. His scarf and mittens are soaked, and his face is wet.

I sigh. “Cried himself to sleep,” I mutter, “He was quiet, though,”. I shake him slightly, and he rouses. “Hey,” I say, “dinner’s nearly done. We’re having quiche,”

“Alright,” he says, “Are we still going to go to the funeral?”

I pause. “If you want to,” I mutter, “we can go,”

He just nods. “You should get Sans,” Papyrus says, “He may want to go to the funeral as well,”

I nod, and start up the stairs. I walk over to Sans’ room, and knock lightly. “Sans?” I say, “Dinner’s nearly ready. Could you come  down, please?”

There’s some shuffling from the other side of the door, and it slowly opens. Sans just stares at me for a few seconds. “Not hungry,” he mutters, and then he starts to close the door.

I put my hand in the way of the door. “Sans,” I say, “You should come with us to the funeral,”

“Why?” he mutters.

“If you care for Toriel, you’d be there to support her,” I say, “She just lost both of her children,”

He sighs, and then nods. “I’ll be right down,” he says, “but you have to answer a question of mine,”

“Alright,” I say, “What is it?”

“Do you like Grillby?” he asks.

I pause. “Uh…well…I think he’s a really nice monster, and I appreciate him looking after you as I worked,”

“That’s not what I asked,” he says, “Do you like him?”

I sigh. “I…I don’t know…” I say, “I…I suppose, but it’s nothing that he needs to know right now,”

Sans just sighs, and nods. “I’ll be down soon,” he says.

I move my hand, and he shuts the door.

After dinner, we all change into nicer, black clothing, and we make our way to the Palace. Many other monsters are making their way through the Underground to the Palace. I saw Undyne and some other Guard Members, Alphys and Mettaton, a few of the people from Snowden. They all shoot strange glances at me, some concerned, some sympathetic, others…like Undyne… _ hateful _ . Alphys doesn’t even glance at me. I ignore them, though, and, with my sons and Grillby, we find a place to stand in the throne room, which has two small coffins in the middle of the room. One is labeled “Chara”, and the other is “Asriel”. They both also have the DeltaRune on the lid.

“It’s so sad,” I can hear a monster whisper behind me. She has a mild lisp.

“I know,” another answers. They’re male. “They were so young,”

“I heard that they never found either of the children’s bodies,” the first one says.

“Then what are they going to bury?” the second one asks.

“I don’t know,” the first says, “Maybe some belongings, or something,”

I sigh, and turn around to face the monsters. 

It’s a spider monster and a blue rabbit monster. They both stare up at me, terrified.

“If you don’t mind,” I say, quietly, “some of us are  _ actually _ mourning. So, please…be quiet,”

They both nod, and for the rest of the funeral they don’t say a word.

All that happened during the funeral was the King said a eulogy for both of his children, with many tears shed for both. Then, the coffins were carried into the tombs underneath the castle. The King asked for volunteers to help carry the two coffins. I volunteered to help carry Chara’s coffin. When we go into the tombs, I see the coffins of the other children, and, surprisingly, I see all of the Soul Children sitting on their coffins. They all wave to me, and I nod back. I had helped carry all of these coffins down here as well.

We set the two coffins down in the Royal Family’s Tomb, where there’s a statue of King Asgore the Just. After the coffins are set down, I turn to the statue. “Please,” I mutter, “Watch over them, old friend,”

I feel someone walk up next to me. I glance over to see Grillby. 

He stares at the statue for a second. Then, he does something entirely unexpected. He reaches over to me, and grabs my hand.

I half expect my hand to start to burn, but all I feel is…warmth. Like I had put my hand into a bowl of warm water. I squeeze his hand tightly, and he squeezes back.

We walk back up to the main hall in the Palace, hand in hand, and meet up with Sans and Papyrus. 

Sans was talking to Toriel, and Papyrus was talking to Undyne.

We walk over to Papyrus first. 

“Oh!” he says, “Father, Undyne and I were just talking about you!”

“You’re friends with Alphys, I suppose?” I say.

“Yeah,” she says, voice full of sarcasm, “Thanks for making her feel like Chara’s death was all her fault. She appreciates that,”

I sigh. “You must understand,” I say, “I was angry at myself, so…I…I had tried to lay blame where it wasn’t supposed to be. It isn’t her fault. It’s mine. I didn’t do everything I could have. Tell her that I’m sorry,”

“I-I forgive you,” I hear from behind me. Alphys walks from around me, and stands next to Papyrus.

I sigh again, and kneel down in front of her. She’s that much smaller than me.

She hugs me around my shoulders, tears slowly flowing from her eyes.

I hug her back.

“I need your help with something,” she whispers in my ear, “Bring Sans, and meet me back at the Lab, okay?”

I pause for a second. What could she need both mine and Sans’ help for? “Alright,” I say. I stand back up, and she smiles at me.

Grillby grabs my hand again. It’s like he doesn’t like it when I’m not right next to him.

I smile slightly. I look over in Sans’ direction, and I motion for him to join us.

He says a quick goodbye to Toriel, and walks over to us. He glances at mine and Grillby's hands, and smiles for a second. “Are we going home?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say, “Come on,”

As we walk, I see Flowey looking at me from near the Palace entrance. I let go of Grillby’s hand. “I’ll catch up,” I say, “Don’t wait for me,”

He nods, and they continue to walk.

I walk over to Flowey, who looks mildly distressed. “Are you alright?” I ask.

“I just watched my own funeral,” he mutters, “but other than that, I’m fine,”

I shake my head. “Stop thinking of yourself as Asriel,” I say, “You’re Flowey, not the Prince,”

Flowey sighs. “I know,” he mutters, “It’s just…It feels weird thinking that way,”

“I know,” I say, “but it will be better for all of us if you were to just…forget,”

Flowey sighs. “Okay,” he mutters.

“Have a good day, Flowey,” I say, walking away from him.

“You too, Gastor,” he says, and he disappears.

I catch up to Grillby, Sans, and Papyrus, and I grab Grillby’s hand. We walk all the way back to Snowden without any of us saying a word.


	9. Three Years Later

“So,” Toriel says to me as we walk through the halls of the Ruins, “How’s Grillby?”

I smile. “He’s fine,” I say, “his restaurant is doing well,”

“Are you two living together yet?” she asks.

“No,” I say, “Not yet. I’m trying to convert the shed next to Sans and Papyrus’ house into an apartment, but that’s going to take a little while,”

She just nods.

We’re near the second chamber of the Ruins, when I hear a high-pitched, scratchy voice yell, “… _IDIOT!!_ _IN THIS WORLD IT’S KILL OR BE KILLED!!!”_

I scrunch my eyebrows. “Something’s not right,” I say to Toriel.

She nods to me, and we rush into the next room.

Flowey is glaring at a small human child, laughing.

The child is crouching down, head between their knees, hands over their head, quivering.

Flowey has surrounded them with glowing white pellets, which are closing in around them.

“No!” Toriel mutters. She forms a ball of fire in her hand and throws it at Flowey.

As she does that, I hold out my hands, stopping the bullets in their path. With some concentration, I make them disappear.

Flowey is knocked away by the fire-ball, and the child slowly stands up. They look around.

“Dear child,” Toriel says, walking up to the human, “Are you alright? Such a miserable creature torturing a poor, innocent youth…”

I kneel in front of them. “You’re not hurt, are you?” I ask, quietly.

They shake their head “no”. Their scraggly, short, dark brown hair and caramel skin reminds me of Adaline, but their eyes are very dark brown. They’re wearing a blue and pink striped sweater, blue shorts, and white socks sticking out over a pair of brown boots. They’re holding a stick, and there’s a bandaid on their cheek.

“Good,” I say, smiling.

“I am Toriel,” Toriel says, “Guardian of the Ruins. I pass by this area everyday to make sure no one has fallen down,”

“And I’m W.D. Gastor, a medical doctor and scientist,” I say, bowing my head slightly.

The human smiles at us. They wave.

“Follow me, child,” Toriel says. She starts to walk toward the door.

I stand up, and I walk next to the human, following Toriel.

She leads us into the Ruins’ entrance hall. “This is the entrance to the Ruins,” she says to the child, “Meet me at the door when you’re ready,”. She then walks up to the entrance, and waits at the door.

The human looks up at me, briefly, then walks up to a star in the middle of the room. If I hadn’t watched them walk up to it, I would haven’t have noticed it. I don’t think it’s been there before. They touch the star, and the world blinks white for a second. They then turn back to me, and smile again. They start up the stairs, and motions for me to follow them.

I follow them and Toriel into the next room, and through the Ruins, until Toriel stops at the end of a long hall.

“I…I have something I need to do,” she says to the child, “but…you’ll have Dr.-er…Gastor to watch after you. But, in case you need it, here,” Toriel hands the child an ancient looking cell-phone, “take this. I already have my number programmed into it,”

The child takes the phone, and nods.

Toriel looks at me, almost pleadingly.

I nod, and smile.

She nods back, and leaves.

After the sound of Toriel’s footsteps disappears, the child turns to me.

“Shall we continue, then?” I say to them.

They nod.

“Do you have a name?” I ask.

They sign a series of letters, slowly, like they just recently started to learn how to sign. “F-R-I-S-K”.

“‘Frisk’?” I ask, “That’s a good name,”

Frisk smiles at me, and we both turn to the doorway to the next room, Frisk grabbing my hand.

\----------

“Did they behave?” Toriel asks me.

I’m sitting at the table in her living room, sipping a mug of coffee, reading a book about a human scientist who used a mixture of chemicals to separate the evil part of his personality from the good. “Yes,” I say, “They seemed to know exactly how to treat each monster in order to befriend them. They’re very different from Chara. Remember how Chara would make fun of the monsters before terrifying them with their ‘Creepy Face’? They used it on me a few times, as well,”

“Gastor,” Toriel mutters, “we’ve discussed this before. Please…do not bring up  _ either _ of my children in everyday conversation…”

I lower my head. “Forgive me, Toriel,” I say, “It’s just…your form of grieving is different from mine,”

“What is your form of grieving?” she asks.

“Remembering them as they  _ were _ , not as they  _ are _ ,” I say.

She’s quiet. She looks back down at her book about snails.

Frisk walks into the room, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

“Good morning, child!” Toriel says, “Have a nice nap?”

Frisk nods. They walk up to in front of Toriel, a look of sad determination on their face.

“Would you like to hear a fact about snails?” Toriel asks.

Frisk shakes their head and points to the other room, where the stairs to the exit of the Ruins is.

Toriel pauses, and reads off a fact anyway.

“Toriel,” I say, “I think they would like to leave, so they can go home. Isn’t that right, Frisk?”

Frisk nods.

Toriel sighs and stands up. “I have to do something,” she mutters, “Stay here…”. She walks out of the room.

I stand up and I grab her elbow. “Don’t do anything you may regret,” I say to her.

She pulls her arm out of my grip, and walks into the front hall, and down the stairs.

I sigh. I turn to Frisk, who’s staring at the steps, worried. I kneel down in front of Frisk. “The stairs lead to the exit of the Ruins,” I say to them, “beyond is Snowden Forest and Snowden Town. Would you like me to accompany you?”. I hold my hand out in front of Frisk.

They nod, and grab my hand.

“Alright,” I say, holding their hand, and standing up, “Follow me, Frisk,”. I lead them down the stairs, and down the hallway.


	10. Ruins Exit

We find Toriel at the end of the hall, facing the door to the rest of the Underground.

“Dr. Gastor,” she says, her voice poisonous, “you’ve already taken one child away from me. Don’t make the same mistake twice,”. She raises her hand, and a fireball materializes above it.

I push Frisk behind me, and I wave my hand in front of me, drawing a line. An arc of floating hands materializes, and they form a circle around Frisk and I. “You can’t just imprison a child in the Ruins,” I say, “They fell on  _ accident _ . They probably have family up on the surface, waiting for them. Their mother might think them dead,”

“So…” Toriel says.

“You know how that feels,” I say, “Would you wish that upon another?”

Toriel sighs, and starts to sob. Suddenly, she yells in fury, turning around, launching the fireball at me.

I cross my hands in front of me, the ring of hands forming a shield in front of me. The blast from the fireball knocks several of the hands down, disintegrating them into dust. The heat blasts me in the face, but…I’m not bothered much by heat anymore…

Toriel fires a barrage of flames at me, but I can’t get the hands back up in enough time.

I turn around, and I block the flames from hitting Frisk with my own back. I feel the fire burn straight through my clothes and sear my back. I fall to my knees, back aching in pain. I can’t even move my arms without it hurting.

Frisk stares at me for a second, terrified. Their face then sets into a look of what I can only call determination. They step around me.

“No, Frisk!” I say trying to turn, but the pain makes me flinch, making me fall forward, laying face down on the floor. I watch as Frisk throws their stick to the side, and dodges every attack Toriel throws at them. They seemed determine not to fight her.

Toriel seems determined to make them stay. But I can see Toriel’s determination falter.

Frisk gets close enough to her, and grabs her wrists.

Toriel gasps, and then sighs. She kneels down in front of Frisk, and hugs them. I can see her mouth moving, like she’s saying something, quietly, to Frisk. She then stands up, and walks away. At the entrance to the tunnel back to her house, she turns, and stares at Frisk for a second, then turns back around, and leaves.

Frisk walks up to me, and offers a small, light pink candy to me.

“What?” I ask, “You want me to eat this?”

They nod. They grab one of my hands, and places it in my hand.

I hold the candy between my fingers, and I glance between it and Frisk. “Thank you…” I mutter. I unwrap the candy, and I put it in my mouth. It tastes like a strawberries. I feel the pain subside in my back. I stand up, and I turn my head, catching a glance of the ruined back of my shirt. “Well,” I mutter, “good thing we’re heading to Snowdin Town. I’ll need a new shirt and coat,”

Frisk nods at me, and holds their hand out.

I take their hand, and we continue forward, into a room similar to the one we found Frisk in. Flowey’s in the middle of the room.

He glares at me. “How…DARE you!” he yells at me, “You and your goody-two-shoes way of going about things! In this world it’s…”

“‘Kill or be killed’?” I ask, shaking my head, “I thought I taught you better, Flowey. It was not fault but theirs, and we both know that. Neither of us could do anything,”

He glares at me harder. He then turns to Frisk. “You must be  _ real _ proud of yourself,” he says, “Sparing one monster. But, what will happen when you come up against a relentless _ killer _ ? Will you just keep dying, or will you kill, just out of frustration? We’ll see soon enough…” he then starts to laugh, and disappears.

Frisk squeezes my hand tighter, and takes a step closer to me.

I kneel down in front of them, and place my hands on their shoulders. “It’s alright,” I say to them, “I won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t let you kill. If it comes to it I’ll-,”

But they shake their head. They slowly sign, “I don’t want you to be a killer either,”

I sigh. “Alright, then,” I say, “Let’s continue then. I’ll help you get home, if it’s the last thing that I do,”


	11. Snowden

We exit the Ruins, and enter Snowden forest.

_ Sans and Papyrus should be on duty here, _ I think to myself,  _ if Frisk is with me, I don’t think Papyrus will attempt anything. I may be accused of treason, though… _

_ Abandon… _

The word is whispered to me, but I shake the feeling away. I can’t let myself fall into that dark cycle of thinking again. He’d return if I do.

“Come along, Frisk,” I say, pulling them down the path, “Snowden Town is this way,”

They nod.

We reach a bridge, and start to cross it, when I hear someone clear their throat from behind me.

I turn around to see Sans standing behind us. He’s staring at Frisk, surprised.

“Is…is that…a  _ human _ ?” he asks me.

“Yes,” I say, “Their name is Frisk. I’m going to help them get home, and there is no way you can talk me out of it,”

He stares at me. “But…” he stutters, “That…that’s treason. You could get imprisoned for that,”

I nod. “I am aware,” I say, “but…they may have a family waiting for them up there. I can’t keep them stranded down here,”

“But…” Sans says, “in order to get through the barrier…you’ll need to kill the King. That’s a coup d'etat,”

“Not really,” I say, “unless others work with me,”

Sans stares at me. “I’m not going to report you,” he says, “but Papyrus might,”

“He wouldn’t,” I say, “Sans, I’m taking Frisk to our house for a brief spell, then I’m going to continue with them through the Underground,”

Sans just nods.

I turn back down the path, taking Frisk’s hand. “Please, tell your brother not to bother us,” I call back to Sans, “I want to get Frisk home as soon as possible,”

Sans doesn’t answer.

I turn to see he’s gone.

\----------

_ Later, at the house _

“Are you hungry?” I ask Frisk, “I could make you something to eat here, or we could go to Grillby’s,”

Frisk just tilts their head from side to side.

“Well,” I say, “you need to eat. I don’t want you being too weak to get out of the Underground,”

They stare at me for a second, then nod. They sign “Grillby’s”.

I chuckle. “What?” I ask, “Are you afraid that Papyrus gets his cooking skills from me?”

Frisk waves their hands in front of them, like that’s not what they meant, but they’re laughing.

I smile, and I grab my coat from the couch. I put it on, and stand by the front door. I hold my hand out to Frisk. “Ready?” I ask.

They nod, taking my hand.

“After lunch at Grillby’s, we’ll take a nap, then continue on, alright?” I say to them.

They nod.

We exit the house, and walk to Grillby’s. When we enter the bar, it goes silent. All of the patrons turn to us, and stare of a minute.

I feel Frisk step behind me, and they squeeze my hand tighter.

I advance toward the bar, and I see that Sans is already seated there.

He glances at us, then turns back to his plate of fries. He mutters something, but I ignore him.

I help Frisk onto the bar stool next to Sans, and I sit next to them.

Grillby stands in front of me, and I smile.

“How’s business, darling?” I ask.

He tilts his head side to side, and signs, “Like it always is,”.

I nod. I then turn to Frisk. “What would you like for lunch?” I ask them, “There’s burgers and fries,”

Frisk thinks for a second. “Burger,” they sign.

I turn back to Grillby. “One burger and one basket of fries, dear,” I say to him, placing two gold on the counter.

Grillby pushes the gold back towards me. “On the house,” he signs.

“Oh, Grillby,” I say, trying to push the gold back toward him, “you…you don’t need to do that…”

“Take the gold,” he signs, “or I will burn you,”

I chuckle. I grab the coins from the counter, and I put them back into one of my coat pockets. “If you insist,” I mutter, “Oh, Grillby…the shed is done. If…If you want…”

He looks at me, unblinking, for at least a minute. “I’ll move my stuff into the shed after closing time today,” he signs.

I smile. “Good,” I say.

He nods to me, then to Frisk, then to Sans, and he goes into the back room.

“So…uh…” Sans starts, talking to the human, “you’re human…huh? Cool…I bet that you’ve been warned about Asgore, right? How he’s been gathering human souls to break the barrier? He’d be after you, and if he meets you…he’s going to kill you. You know that, right?”

“Sans,” I say, “if you’re trying to scare them,  _ don’t _ . I won’t let anyone hurt them,”

Sans stares at me. “The hell has gotten into you?” he asks, “They’re  _ human _ . You’re a  _ monster _ . It’s not like you can  _ adopt _ them,”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I say, “They probably have a family to get back to,”

Frisk taps me on my shoulder.

I turn to them.

“I don’t,” they sign, “I’m alone. I have no one waiting for me on the Surface,”

I stare at them for a minute. “You…you have…no one?” I ask.

They nod.

“I’m sorry,” I say, “I just assumed that you had family. Regardless, you belong on the Surface, so I’ll still help you get back,”

They nod.

Grillby comes out of the back room with Frisk’s burger and my fries.

“Sans,” I say as Grillby sets the food in front of us, “If you offer Frisk ketchup, I swear to Asgore Sr., you will regret it,”

Sans’ hand had been hovering near a bottle of ketchup in front of him. I knew he was going to prank Frisk because any bottle of ketchup near him would have been empty in seconds. This bottle was full, so he probably rigged it so that the lid falls off when someone tried to pour it on their food, spilling the ketchup everywhere. He stares at me.

“I know you better than you think I do,” I say, taking a fry from the basket in front of me and eating it. I reach to my right and grab and unrigged bottle of ketchup. I test it on my fries first, before I offer it to Frisk. The lid doesn’t fall off. “Would you like some?” I ask Frisk, sliding the bottle near them.

They nod, and take it, pouring some onto their burger.

“Why are you allowed to offer them ketchup, but I’m not?” Sans asks.

“Because, I wouldn’t prank them,” I say.

Sans grumbles something.

“What was that?” I ask, eating another fry.

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” he asks.

“Because I’m your father,” I say, “I have to keep you in check,”

He scoffs, but is quiet.

Frisk had been looking back and forth between us as we talked, eating their burger.

_ They’re so adorable… _ I think to myself,  _ I can’t just leave them…but they belong on the surface… _ I sigh.

Frisk tugs at my sleeve, gestures to their plate, and signs, “Done,”.

“You were hungry, weren’t you?” I ask, chuckling, “I’m still working on my fries, though…”

Frisk is staring at my fries, longingly.

I chuckle and push them closer to them. “You can help me,” I say, “I’m not that hungry…”

They smile at me, and takes a small handful of fries, not caring if they get ketchup on their hands.

Grillby is standing in front of me, and he’s leaning on the bar with his elbows, staring at Frisk. His shoulders shake slightly, like he chuckled. He turns to me and quickly signs, “They’re cute,”

“They are, aren’t they?” I say.

Frisk smiles at both of us, and signs “Thank you,” to Grillby.

He nods to them.

It takes not even five minutes for both me and Frisk to finish the fries.

“Thank you, love,” I say to Grillby, “You didn’t have to make it free of charge…”

He waves me comments away, and grabs my hand. He pushes a note closer to me.

I pick it up with my free hand, and see that it read, “Undyne is searching for them. Someone told her. You’re on her hit-list. Watch your back as you go through Waterfall,”.  I look up at him, and nod. “Thank you for the warning,” I mutter, “she most definitely would have caught us off-guard,”

Grillby nods, and leans toward me, quickly kissing my cheek. “Stay safe,” he signs with one hand.

I nod. “I will, dear,” I say, and I pull my hand away from his. I stand up, and help Frisk off of their stool. We walk out of the restaurant, hand-in-hand, monsters watching us.

Frisk yawns wide.

“I know, child,” I say, “we’ll take a nap, then we’ll continue,”

They nod.

When we get to the house again, I notice they’re very tired now. I pick them up, and walk them to the small hall extension that I built to connect the house and the shed. I take them into the small apartment I made in the shed, and I lay them on the bed.

They’re already asleep.

I take their shoes off, and tuck them into the bed. I take my own shoes off, and lay down on the couch in the room, falling to sleep rather easily.


End file.
